Media watchdog wary of Arab Spring freedoms

TUNIS, Tunisia – Reporters Without Borders says Arab Spring countries have fallen short on the promise of greater media freedom after the fall of dictators and autocrats in north Africa.

The media watchdog's warning came as Tunisia hosted UNESCO chief Irina Bokova for a ceremony for World Press Freedom Day on Thursday as part of a four-day visit to the birthplace of revolutions across the region.

The Paris-based group also listed six new "predators" against press freedom including new North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il and military leaders who run Egypt after the fall of Hosni Mubarak in the Arab Spring last year.

Many new publications, online news sites and private TV and radio stations have emerged in Tunisia since the fall of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali last year — whose 23-year regime kept the media under tight wraps.